Arab leaders condemn Israel at Cairo 'peace summit'

Arab leaders condemned Israel's two-week-old bombardment of Gaza on Saturday and demanded renewed efforts to reach a Middle East peace settlement between Israelis and Palestinians.

Speaking at a hastily convened gathering dubbed the "Cairo Peace Summit", Jordan's King Abdullah denounced what he termed global silence about Israel's attacks on the enclave and urged an even-handed approach to the Israeli-Palestinian dispute.

"The message the Arab world is hearing is that Palestinian lives matter less than Israeli ones," he said, adding he was outraged and grieved by acts of violence waged against innocent civilians in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Palestinians would not be displaced or driven off their land.

"We won't leave, we won't leave," he told the summit.

According to Reuters, three diplomats said it was unlikely there would be a joint statement from the Cairo gathering because of sensitivities around any calls for a ceasefire, and whether to include mention of Hamas's attack and Israel's right to defend itself.

The absence of a top official from Israel's main ally the United States and some other major western leaders has cooled expectations for what the hastily-convened event can achieve.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will not attend, while there has been no official word on whether French President Emmanuel Macron will go